Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a range of complex developmental brain disorders. ASD is associated with concerns or difficulties in three areas:

• communication/language
• social interaction
• behaviour

ASD is a lifelong developmental disability that impacts how an individual understands what he or she sees, hears and senses. This can result in difficulties with social relationships, communication and behaviour.

ASD can be expressed in many different combinations and in any degree of severity. There can be differences in the number of symptoms, age of onset, developmental pattern and level of functioning. If you know ONE person with autism you know ONE person with autism.

Concerns associated with ASD may include:

• difficult temperament
• sleeping concerns
• picky eating
• clumsiness
• seizures
• sensory concerns
• attention issues

The diagnostic category known as Pervasive Developmental Disorder is otherwise known as ASD. Diagnoses under this umbrella include:

• Autistic Disorder
• Asperger Syndrome
• PDD-NOS (Pervasive Developmental Disorder-Not Otherwise Specified)
• Rett Disorder
• Childhood Disintegrative Disorder

Some people with ASD have normal levels of intelligence. The majority do have some level of intellectual disability ranging from mild to severe. This range is often referred to as high-functioning ASD to low-functioning ASD, though this is not an official part of the diagnosis.

In North America the diagnosis of ASD can be made by a physician, pediatrician, neurologist, registered psychologist, or psychiatrist.

The diagnosis is made after a qualified professional has reviewed an individual’s:

• developmental history
• developmental context – language assessment, adaptive behaviour assessment, cognitive assessment
• observed characteristics – structured observations, real-world observations, pragmatic language assessment, information from people connected to individual

The cause(s) of ASD is not fully known. There is growing evidence ASD is a genetic condition and it’s likely several different genes are involved. Genetic transmission appears complex. The focus of research is on discovering which genes may be involved and how these genes are affected.

It appears that for at least a significant subgroup of people with ASD there is a genetic susceptibility that differs across families. Early life events, such as complications during pregnancy or environmental factors, are believed to interact with genetic susceptibility.

There is no cure for ASD, however symptoms can be diminished and valuable life skills can be learned through various therapies and support services. Evidence indicates early diagnosis and intervention are beneficial in helping individuals with ASD achieve their fullest potential.

Concerns associated with ASD may include:

• difficult temperament
• sleeping concerns
• picky eating
• clumsiness
• seizures
• sensory concerns
• attention issues

EWC is a 12 week program occurring 2 times per week for 2.5 hour each session. A typical session is from 9:00 a.m. – 11:30 a.m., but this timing may vary by location across the country. The total program spans approximately 60 hours, which includes 30 hours focused on structured learning, and 30 hours focused on community volunteer work and experiential activities in real workplace environments.

There are a total of 10 participants in a program comprised of 8 individuals with ASD and 2 Peer Mentors.

Yes, all of the participants need to commit to attending the full 12 week program. We appreciate that this is sometimes not possible due to illness or vacations, but it is preferred that you are available for the full 12 weeks to achieve the best outcomes.

There is currently no charge for initial participation in the program. The EWC program is part of the Worktopia Project that is funded in part by the Government of Canada’s Opportunities Fund for Persons with Disabilities. Additional funding is also provided by The Sinneave Family Foundation and Autism Speaks Canada.

Program oversight and support is provided by a Program Coordinator and 2 Program Facilitators.

Being a Peer Mentor is a meaningful and powerful way to provide support to individuals with ASD by helping them to develop and practice skills, listening to their perspectives and increase confidence by creating a sense of respect, trust and belonging. It also creates the opportunity for you to learn more about autism and the capabilities of individuals with ASD, and to make a real difference in someone’s life.

The time commitment for Peer Mentors is approximately 1 to 2.5 hours per week for 12 weeks.

This is your opportunity to have access to a work force that are known to be reliable, dedicated employees who have the potential to excel in the workplace. Your organization will also contribute to the growth and advancement of individuals with ASD by providing meaningful opportunities for them to develop, practice and improve work-related skills necessary for future employment success. It is also an opportunity to champion community awareness, learn how to create an autism friendly work environment, and support future employment opportunities for individuals with ASD.

It is SFF’s policy to comply with the privacy legislation within each jurisdiction in which we operate.  Sometimes the privacy legislation and / or an individual’s right to privacy are different from one jurisdiction to another.  This Privacy Policy covers only those activities that are subject to the provisions of Canada’s federal and provincial privacy laws, as applicable.

This Privacy Policy has a limited scope and application.  Consequently, the rights and obligations contained in this Privacy Policy may not be available to all individuals or in all jurisdictions.

For the purposes of this Privacy Policy, personal information is any information about an identifiable individual, other than an individual’s business contact information when collected, used or disclosed for the purposes of enabling the individual to be contacted in relation to their business responsibilities.

You can visit our website without telling us who you are or revealing sensitive information about yourself, including your e-mail address.  Our web server may collect information related to your visit to our website, including the IP address and domain used to access our website, the type and version of your browser, the website you came from to access our website, the page you entered and exited at, any website page within our website that is viewed by that IP address and what country you are from. We use this information to monitor our website’s performance (such as number of visits, average time spent, page views) and for our business purposes such as working to continually upgrade our website.

In addition, we collect the personal information that you submit to our website, such as your name, address and any other contact or other information that you choose to provide by, for example:

using the “contact” portion of this website;
creating a personal account;
applying for a position or to volunteer through this website;
registering for a conference, seminar or other event hosted by or on behalf of SFF; or
corresponding with a representative of SFF via e-mail using the hyperlinks created for that purpose.
Where you request information from us, we may use the e-mail address that you provide to send you information about offers on products and services that we believe may be of interest to you. If you have asked us to put you on an e-mail mailing to provide you with certain information on a regular basis, or if we send you information about our company and its products by e-mail, you may ask us to remove you from the list at any time (using the unsubscribe instructions provided with each e-mail and on the site where you signed up).

When you visit the website, we may place a “cookie” on the hard drive of your computer to track your visit.  A cookie is a small data file that is transferred to your hard drive through your web browser that can only be read by the website that placed the cookie on your hard drive.  The cookie acts as an identification card and allows our website to identify you and to record your passwords and preferences.  The cookie allows us to track your visit to the website so that we can better understand your use of our website so that we can customize and tailor the website to better meet your needs.

We may use three different types of cookies on our website: persistent cookies; session cookies; and third-party cookies. (Please refer to your browser’s Help section for further information on controlling and setting cookies).

A persistent cookie remains on your hard drive for authentication purposes where the use of one of this website requires a username and password. We may use a persistent cookie to save your username (only if you ask to remember your username on the computer you use to access this website) so you don’t have to re-enter it each time you visit one of our sites. You may choose to reject persistent cookies and use your login password each time you visit a site, and the site will still function correctly.

A session cookie is temporary, only used during a single session on this website, and is automatically deleted at the end of your visit. We may use session cookies (a) to customize your visit to this website and your membership experience, (b) to deliver content consistent with your stated interests and the manner in which you browse and/or use this website, and (c) for other purposes to make your visit more convenient.

At times, some of our third party advertisers or their ad serving and tracking providers may place cookies on your computer system when you select their ad banner and some of our content providers or partners may also place cookies on your computer system when you visit those portions of our website over which they have control. We have no control over these third party cookies and we do not receive the data collected by those cookies. The information we obtain by supplementing the cookie data we collect from you with information collected from cookies set by third parties on our behalf is only aggregate information (i.e., anonymous and non-personally identifiable).

You may stop or restrict the placement of cookies on your computer or flush them from your browser by adjusting your web browser preferences. Depending on the website, the rejection of session cookies may interfere with the functionality of this website and in certain cases you may have to accept session cookies in order for the site to function at all. If your browser does not differentiate between persistent and session cookies, you may have to enable all cookies in order for this website to function properly.

We do not use cookies to retrieve information from your computer for purposes that are unrelated to the service being offered through your interaction with this website.

Our website may contain links to other websites that may be subject to less stringent privacy standards. We cannot assume any responsibility for the privacy practices, policies or actions of the third parties that operate these websites. SFF is not responsible for how such third parties collect, use or disclose your personal information. You should review the privacy policies of these websites before providing them with personal information.

The personal information collected through our website is used and disclosed for our business purposes. For example, we may collect, use and disclose your personal information to:

establish, maintain and manage our relationship with you so that we may provide you with, or receive from you, the products and services that have been requested;
be able to review the products and services that we provide to you so that  we may work to improve our products and services;
be able to comply with your requests (for example, if you prefer to be contacted at a business or residential telephone number and advise us of your preference, we will use this information to contact you at that number);
protect us against error, fraud, theft and damage to our property; and
enable us to comply with applicable law or regulatory process (for example, we may collect personal information to satisfy the obligations imposed on us by our various regulators).
We may also collect, use and disclose your personal information any other reasonable purpose to which you consent.

Your personal information may be shared with our employees, contractors, consultants, affiliates and other parties who require such information to assist us with establishing, maintaining and managing our relationship with you.

Please note that we may collect, use or disclose your personal information without your knowledge or consent where we are permitted or required by applicable law or regulatory requirements to do so.

Your Consent is Important to Us

By using our website, you have consent to the collection, use and disclosure of your personal information as explained in this Privacy Policy.

You may change or withdraw your consent at any time, subject to legal or contractual restrictions and reasonable notice, by contacting our Privacy Officer using the contact information set out below.  All communications with respect to such withdrawal or variation of consent should be in writing and addressed to our Privacy Officer.  Please note that in some circumstances, withdrawing or changing your consent to certain uses of your personal information may affect: (i) our ability to provide you with the products or services you request; and (ii) your ability to access to this website.

ASN endeavours to maintain physical, technical and procedural safeguards that are appropriate to the sensitivity of the personal information in question.  These safeguards are designed to prevent your personal information from loss and unauthorized access, copying, use, modification or disclosure.

Unfortunately, no data transmission over the Internet can be guaranteed to be 100% secure.  As a result, while this website strives to protect your personal information, we cannot guarantee the security of any information you transmit to us, and you do so at your own risk.  Once this website receives you transmission, we make commercially reasonable efforts to ensure its security on our systems.

The security of your personal information is important to us, please advise our Privacy Officer immediately of any incident involving the loss of or unauthorized access to or disclosure of personal information that is in our custody or control.

It is important that the information contained in our records is both accurate and current.  If your personal information happens to change during the course of our relationship, please keep us informed of such changes.

In some circumstances we may not agree with your request to change your personal information and will instead append an alternative text to the record in question.

You can ask to see your personal information.  If you want to review, verify or correct your personal information, please contact our Privacy Officer.  Please note that any such communication must be in writing.

When requesting access to your personal information, please note that we may request specific information from you to enable us to confirm your identity and right to access, as well as to search for and provide you with the personal information that we hold about you.  We may charge you a fee to access your personal information; however, we will advise you of any fee in advance.  If you require assistance in preparing your request, please contact our Privacy Officer.

Your right to access the personal information that we hold about you is not absolute.  There are instances where applicable law or regulatory requirements allow or require us to refuse to provide some or all of the personal information that we hold about you.  In addition, the personal information may have been destroyed, erased or made anonymous in accordance with our record retention obligations and practices.  In the event that we cannot provide you with access to your personal information, we will endeavour to inform you of the reasons why, subject to any legal or regulatory restrictions.

If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy or concerns about how we manage your personal information, please contact our Privacy Officer by telephone, in writing or by e-mail. We will endeavour to answer your questions and advise you of any steps taken to address the issues raised by you. If you are dissatisfied with our response, you may be entitled to make a written submission to the Privacy Commissioner in your jurisdiction.

We have appointed a Privacy Officer to oversee compliance with this Privacy Policy.  The contact information for our Privacy Officer is as follows:

Privacy Officer
The Ability Hub
3820 24 Ave NW, Calgary, AB T3B 2X9
403.210.5000

SFF from time to time, may make changes to this Privacy Policy to reflect changes in its legal or regulatory obligations or in the manner in which we deal with your personal information. We will post any revised version of this Privacy Policy on our website and we encourage you to refer back to it on a regular basis. This Privacy Policy was last updated on October 8, 2013.

Any interpretation associated with this Privacy Policy will be made by our Privacy Officer.  This Privacy Policy includes examples but is not intended to be restricted in its application to such examples; therefore where the word “including” is used, it shall mean “including without limitation”.

This Privacy Policy does not create or confer upon any individual any rights, or impose upon SFF any rights or obligations outside of, or in addition to, any rights or obligations imposed by Canada’s federal and provincial privacy laws, as applicable. Should there be, in a specific case, any inconsistency between this Privacy Policy and Canada’s federal and provincial privacy laws, as applicable, this Privacy Policy shall be interpreted, in respect of that case, to give effect to, and comply with, such privacy laws.